


Founded to buy and build great companies
Our Purpose
Zeal Partners is a family-owned holding company focused on acquiring full or majority control stakes in exceptional small and medium size businesses and holding them indefinitely. We are not a private equity firm looking to maximize returns with financial engineering and short term measures nor are we a strategic buyer looking to cut costs and achieve synergies. We aim to preserve the values and culture that make a company successful and understand the importance of finding a like-minded partner that brings the same passion and zeal to your community, customers, and employees.
Who We Are
Zeal Partners is led by Kim and Adam Leitzes. We know first-hand how challenging it is to navigate the sale process for a company and approach our acquisition process with an owner-operator mindset. Kim is an experienced entrepreneur who sold her software company in late 2020. She has worked in leadership roles in the United States and Asia, with a particular focus on sales, business development, product management, and above all, inspiring incredible individuals to join her teams. Adam has over 20 years of investment experience in small and medium-size businesses across many industries.
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Kim and Adam met as undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in the year 2000 and have been working in or building small companies for their entire careers. They are based in North County San Diego and previously lived in Asia for nearly 15 years.

Kim Leitzes
Kim was born in Burlington, Vermont but spent her formative years in Austin, Texas. Most recently, Kim was the founder and CEO of PARKLU, a software company that pioneered how brands analyze, collaborate and manage social media influencers in China. After running the business for ten years and growing it to over 55 employees, Kim sold PARKLU in late 2020 to Launchmetrics, a global software company. As a result of her "zero to one" journey, Kim has hands-on experience across sales, marketing, product management, talent acquisition and operations.
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Prior to founding PARKLU, Kim was an executive at the fashion company Bill Blass New York and an investment banker at Financo (now Raymond James) in New York and Los Angeles. She graduated cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Adam Leitzes
Adam was born in New York City and grew up in the Philadelphia area. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was enrolled in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, a dual-degree program combining finance at The Wharton School and engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
In 2008, Adam went to work directly for the famed investor Julian Robertson at his family office, Tiger Management. Four years later, Adam spun out of Tiger (with Julian’s blessing and seed capital) and launched his own investment management firm that eventually grew to over $1 billion in assets under management. Adam has spent most of his career evaluating and investing in small and medium-size businesses in a variety of sectors. He is also a published author and a former contributor to Forbes Magazine.

Kim and Adam spend most of their free time with their children, Zoe (age 10), Everett (age 6), and Asher (age 6). Zeal Partners is named for their three kids, as well as for the energy and enthusiasm Kim and Adam bring to their business and personal endeavors.
A Different Kind of Buyer
Selling your business to us can offer confidence that your employees, customers, and business will be in good hands. - we want to hold your business for the long term.
Zeal Partners
Private Equity
Strategic Buyer
Post-Transaction Commitment
Continue to be a family-owned business
One of many portfolio companies
One division in a larger corporation
Value Creation
Long-term, sustainable growth
Maximize short-term returns through cost cutting and financial engineering
Absorb operations and realize synergies through cost cutting
Owner’s Future
Flexible - continue running the business, full exit, or reduced role
Same or more involvement
Employee
Governance
Owners
Investors
Bureaucracy
Deal Terms
Flexible and tailored to the seller’s personal and professional needs
Typically strict, standard deal terms dictated by the fund
Least flexible in terms of deal structuring and liquidity options
Time Horizon
Long-term
3-5 years
Uncertain
What We Look For
We understand that each business is unique, and identifying a great company is more than a simple check-the-box exercise. While we do have a flexible mandate, the below characteristics provide general guidance on the types of attributes we find most attractive in a potential acquisition.
Business Ownership
Willingness to sell a majority stake (or 100%)
Desire to see the company succeed through its next phase
Ideally a leader and management team in place to run the business, but we can discuss stepping into that role as needed
Industry Characteristics
Large and growing addressable market
Resistance to economic cycles
Industry growth greater than GDP growth
Strong barriers to entry
Business Model
10+ years of operating history
Recurring nature of revenues
Engaged employees and strong middle-management​
High return on equity
Low maintenance CapEx requirements
Diverse, loyal customer base
History of profitability and growth
Consistent $1 - $7 million in cash flow / profits